Charlotte Hornets' Kemba Walker (15) celebrates after making a basket against the Indiana Pacers during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 2, 2018.(Photo: Chuck Burton, AP)

CHARLOTTE – Even the Indiana Pacers, masters of comebacks, could not overcome how badly they started Friday night's game.

The Pacers gave up 49 points in the first quarter to the Charlotte Hornets, the most points Indiana had yielded in any quarter this season. With coach Nate McMillan not with the team (personal reasons), longtime assistant coach Dan Burke took over head coach duties for the first time in his career.

Burke will remember this game, but not the way he wanted. The Pacers rallied as they often do, but this time, they fell short. It was too much Kemba Walker (41 points), who led all scorers. It was too much Nicolas Batum (31 points), as the Hornets' starting backcourt combined for 72. And it was too little defense for the Pacers (29-24), who fell,133-126 at Spectrum Center. The loss snapped the Pacers' three-game winning streak, and wasted solid efforts by Victor Oladipo (35 points, five assists) and Myles Turner (19 points, 11 rebounds).

"I don't think we had any zip in our step," said Burke, talking about the first quarter. "We were reacting after they dictated the action. We got to figure out how we get better starts, quit digging the holes we're digging."

The Hornets (22-29) led by as many as 18 early in the third quarter, but the Pacers roared back to tie the score at 82, late in the third quarter.

But from that point, Walker was the best player on the floor. He kept attacking and kept scoring, and by late in the third quarter, Charlotte was ahead by eight points again and never looked back.

The Pacers have little time to dwell on this loss, and return home to host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday (7 p.m.) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. McMillan is scheduled to be back on the sideline, and Burke welcomes returning to his role as an assistant.

"Eighty-two of these?" said Burke.

Here are three takeaways from this Pacers defeat:

1. The Pacers first half defense could not have been much worse.

It was almost shocking when the Hornets did not get a wide open shot in the first quarter. That's how bad the Pacers defense was. They looked lost, at times almost disinterested in getting a hand in someone's face. Charlotte toasted the Pacers for 49 points in the first quarter. It's not like the Pacers were playing back-to-back games. It's not like they were playing the Golden State Warriors. It just looked that way, and Burke sounded prophetic before the game, when he talked about the Pacers' habit of slow starts.

"We keep trying to put our finger on it," said Burke. "Sometimes it looks like we're cool-breezing it a little bit. Slow with our passes, slow with our reads, work our way into it. Instead of coming in to play a game, we got to come in to win a game. That little flip of our mindset, come out with the physicality that we play with in the fourth quarter at the start of the game. Just be consistent.

Charlotte Hornets' Frank Kaminsky, back, and Kemba Walker celebrate during a timeout in the first half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 2, 2018.(Photo: Chuck Burton, AP)

"We've had some stinkers here (in Charlotte). I don't know if it's the barbecue, but we got to come and and respect this team."

Instead, the Pacers tried to overcome another lousy start. This time, they fell short.

2. Walker showed why teams are interested in trading for him.

The Hornets say they aren't shopping Walker, but they are listening to phone calls. Expect the phones to keep ringing. The Pacers are one of many teams that could be interested in Walker before the deadline, and his ability to score from the guard position, along with his youth (27 yeas old) are obvious positives. Walker is a serious one-on-one player, and the Pacers really had no chance to contain him, as badly as they were playing defensively.

Walker is also not afraid to take and make big shots. After the Pacers tied the score in the third quarter, Walker took over and carried Charlotte's offense for the final 15 minutes. Walker is only listed at 6-1, and his lack of size can be a problem on the defensive end. But a team that trades for Walker will be getting a legit scorer, and a competitor. He played the entire second half, telling coach Steve Clifford he did not want to leave the floor.

"Tonight he wasn't going to come out." said Clifford. "Whenever he starts coming over and starts telling me what he's going to do, I'm not going to argue with him."

3.While Turner played well, Domantas Sabonis struggled.

In foul trouble most of the night, Sabonis (eight points, three rebounds) was not much of a factor. Now that Turner is back in the starting lineup, Sabonis will have to re-adjust to coming off the bench and playing effectively, When Turner and Sabonis both play well, the Pacers are difficult to beat. But that was not the case in this game.